Wednesday, July 26, 2006

Chocolate Mud Cake Recipe

This is a soft, dense mud cake with a rich ganache icing. We serve the cake on its own or with cream and ice cream. Slices of the cake can be microwaved before serving to melt the ganache and form a chocolate sauce.

We use a combination of milk and dark chocolate in both the cake and ganache.

Grease the side and base of a deep 23cm or 24cm diameter (inside top measurement) round cake pan. We use a springform pan for easy removal of the cake. Line base and side of the pan with non-stick baking paper, extending the paper a few centimetres above the top rim of the pan.

Sift the flour, cocoa powder and bicarbonate of soda together into a very large bowl.Add the caster sugar to the bowl with the flour mixture, and stir the ingredients together until well combined. For this recipe, we prefer to use a whisk to stir ingredients together.In a medium bowl, place eggs, oil, vanilla and buttermilk.Whisk the wet ingredients together until well combined.

Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and stir until well combined.

Add the chocolate mixture to the egg and flour mixture in a three batches, stirring until combined after each addition.Pour mixture into prepared pan.Bake for about 1 hour and 15 minutes (24cm pan) or 1 hour and 30 minutes (23cm pan). Insert a thin-bladed knife or wooden skewer into the centre of the cake to test whether it is cooked through. If the knife/skewer comes out clean or with moist crumbs (not gooey batter) attached, the cake is ready.

Remove cake from oven, cover with a clean tea towel and allow to cool in the pan.

When the cake has cooled to room temperature, remove it from the pan. The top surface of the cake will probably have a crunchy crust, which you may wish to trim off. We turn the cake upside down to give a flat surface for icing.

Make ganache. Spread ganache over cake using a palette knife or flat-bladed knife.

We store the cake in an airtight container in the refrigerator and allow it to come to room temperature before serving.

The following photo was submitted by Silvana C. Silvana made and decorated this large chocolate mud cake for her niece's 21st birthday. The stars were made by a cake decorator and finished by dipping in melted chocolate. White and dark chocolate panels were placed around the sides of the cake and it was finished with a bow.Ingredients: Double the above quantitiesPan size: 12 inch (30.5cm) squareBaking time and temperature: 1 hour and 45 minutes at 160 degrees Celsius (not fan-forced), covered with baking paper.

The following photo was submitted by Jade, who made this cake for her brother-in-law's birthday party. The design is from Naughty Cakes by Debbie Brown.The box was made from a layer of dark chocolate mud cake (above recipe), a layer of white chocolate mud cake, and a layer of madeira sponge cake. It was frosted with buttercream and covered with fondant. The box flaps were made from pastillage and decorated with fondant flowers. The lady was made from dark chocolate mud cake (base) and modelling paste (torso, arms and head).

The following photo was submitted by Sandy H. Sandy made this Dora the Explorer cake for her daughter's birthday. The cake was frosted with chocolate ganache (hair), and white chocolate ganache coloured with chocolate colouring powder (skin). Dora's eyes, nose and mouth were made from chocolate.Ingredients: Double the quantities in the above recipePan size: 30cm square (the square cake was cut to shape)Baking time and temperature: About 1 hour and 45 minutes at 160 degrees Celsius (not fan-forced), covered with baking paper.

The following photo was submitted by Alison C. Alison made this dark and white chocolate mud cake for her brother's wedding. The cake was iced with ganache and decorated with Belgian chocolate cigarellos.Pan sizes: 28cm diameter (bottom tier), 23cm diameter (middle tier), 18cm diameter (top tier).Ingredients: For the bottom tier, the quantities in the above recipe were multiplied by 1 1/2. The middle tier was made according to the above recipe. This white chocolate mud cake recipe was used for the top tier.

The following photo was submitted by Lukasz K., who made this cake for a friend's birthday. The top of the cake was levelled with ganache and then the cake was covered with fondant. The decorations were made from coloured fondant.Pan: 25cm square pan. The sides of the pan were wrapped in three layers of paper and tied with string.Baking time and temperature: 150 degrees Celsius (fan-forced) for about 2 hours.Ingredients: The above quantities were multiplied by 1 1/2.

The following photo was submitted by Ashley K., who made this cake for her daughter's christening. The cake was iced with white chocolate ganache and decorated with ribbon and chocolate shavings.Ingredients: The bottom tier was made using the above recipe. This white chocolate mud cake recipe was used for the top tier.Baking times and temperatures: As specified in the corresponding recipes.Pan sizes: 25cm diameter (bottom tier), 21cm diameter (top tier).

The following wedding cake photo was submitted by Louise. The chocolate mud cutting cake and cupcakes were iced with white chocolate ganache and decorated with lilac-coloured chocolate hearts.

195 Comments:

My (almost 3) daughter tried a packet mix choc mud cake a few weeks ago and has gone on about it ever since! She's asked for mud cake for her birthday which is Friday (25/8). I'm going to try this recipe - will let you know how it goes...

I made this cake for my engagement party and it turned out fantastic!! I had a small square cake (1 batch of ingredients) on top of a larger one (2 batches of ingredients) & decorated it with white chocolate panels & dark chocolate curls. Everyone at the party was so amazed & just raved about it. I even got a request to do the same thing for a 21st!

Hi The first time I made the cake it was almost perfect except the were cracks on the top so I shaved off the top. Second time the cake cracked as well. Any tips on why the cake cracked and how to make sure it turns out moist?Fyi, I melt the choc in the microwave and the texture is not as smooth as stove top method. Does that affect the texture and density of the cake.Pls help. Thank you and have a good day.

This cake does have a crusty/crackled top. We aren't sure how to avoid this. Next time we bake this cake, we will try covering the top with a layer of baking paper to see whether that makes a difference.

If you would like the cake to be moister, you could try slightly reducing the oven temperature or baking time.

If you are unable to get a smooth result when melting the chocolate in the microwave, we would suggest using the stovetop method. Otherwise, the texture of the cake may be negatively affected.

Thank you for this fantastic recipe! I have always wanted to make a mud cake but thought it would be too hard - however this recipe was easy and it tasted amazing. I had a request to make it again for a farewell party! Love the website overall, so many new things to try...

You could try this substitute for the buttermilk: place 2 teaspoons of lemon juice in a half cup (125 ml capacity), then fill with milk. The mixture will probably develop a curdled appearance similar to that of buttermilk.

Hi, I also notice that the you bake the chocolate cake in the 20cm pan. What is the diffrence between the mud cake and the normal chocolate cake? I am planning to make a cake for my husband 30th b'day this weekend. Which one do you recommend me to bake? I also plan to use a white chocolate ganach,will that work?

This recipe makes too much batter for a 20cm diameter round tin. If you wanted to use that tin size, you would need to use more than one tin, or cut the recipe down. Unfortunately, we haven't tested the cooking time required for a 20cm tin so you would need to keep an eye on the cake and test it with a knife/skewer as described in the recipe above.

The chocolate cake is lighter and fluffier than the mud cake. If made to the above recipe, the mud cake is larger than the chocolate cake and would probably serve twice as many people. We would recommend that you choose whichever type of cake you and your husband prefer.

We would prefer milk or dark chocolate ganache on this cake and on the chocolate cake (we have only ever used white chocolate ganache on white chocolate mud cake).

This recipe is divine - I baked it in a 20cm round tin for 1hr 15mins at 145degrees celsius fan-forced oven, and used the rest of the batter in a half sports ball pan, and it worked out perfect - very moist and chocolatey.

When I made this delicious cake... the way I dealt with the cracked top (first of all i did what you said i turned it over so the hard bit was on the bottom) was once I put the icing on and left it in the fridge over night, I took it out cut them up in to squares then cut about 1cm of the bottom of the cake squares which left a fully soft yummy cake!

the mud cake tasted really nice and moist, the cake appeared flat and smooth but once i cut the cut I realised that just underneath the surface there was a big air bubble in the middle, I've made this cake three times and the same thing happened everytime. Can you tell me how to fix this if you know? thanks

Regarding the air bubble in the middle of this cake: we haven't had this problem so, unfortunately, we aren't sure how to fix it. If you make this cake again, could you email us a photo showing the air bubble?

Ideally, we would make this cake 1-2 days in advance. However, we have stored it (in an airtight container in the fridge) for up to a week.

We haven't used this recipe to make cupcakes, but it should be fine to do so. Just be aware that the recipe will probably make a large number of cupcakes (you might want to halve the recipe). Also, don't put too much batter in the cases as this mixture has a tendency to rise and overflow in the oven.

To the poster who asked about baking this cake in advance - I've baked this cake 4 days in advance and then popped it in the freezer because I had to assemble 3 layers ofr the cake I was decorating for a birthday. First I let the cake cool completely, then I clingwrapped it in 2 layers, and then 2 layers of foil to prevent freezer burn. Put it in your freezer on a firm surface. When defrosted to room temperature and cut, the cake looked very moist and tasted fantastic and very fresh.

Unless you have a pan that is more than 9cm high, you will need to line the pan with baking paper that extends past the rim. This is necessary because the mixture rises up past the rim of the pan during baking.

I just made this cake for my daughter's 3rd Birthday and it was a real hit. I baked a double quantity of the recipe in a 30cm square cake tin. I then cut out the shape of Dora the Explorer's face and iced ti with the chocolate ganache icing for her hair. I made a white chocolate ganache for her face and coloured it with chocolate colouring powder and also flavoured it with orange oil. The eyes, nose and mouth were made form chocolate and then pushed into the icing. Not only did it look fantastic but it tasted awesome, a very moist cake but not too rich. This will definitely be the recipe of choice for future special occasion cakes!

To see a picture of the cake just click on the link above(gabby's mum said...)

Hi, I have volunteered to make the cake for my brothers wedding and am in search of a good mud cake recipe. Is this recipe suitable for a tiered wedding cake? and if so would it do three tiers or just two? And finally what sized tiers and the corresponding recipe amounts do you suggest? Sorry for all the questions - I thought he would want a fruit cake and I can do these!!

I have made this cake twice in the last two days and have had a flop. The centre of the first one dropped but it wasn't cooked properly. I used a 25in tin and cooked it on 160 for 1hr 25 mins.Hence the feeling that my oven temperature is not reading true. Yesterday I tried again with the temp 170 for 1hr 55mins and the centre still dropped a bit and I think it could have been cooked a bit longer still. I am having another go late today and 180. Any suggestions?

I'm also looking for a chocolate mud cake recipe to have made for my wedding. It will need to be for about 70 people and will be covered in the white icing. Is this recipe appropriate? It will also be in a really hot climate (ie. a beach wedding) - will this be a problem?Thanks!

My partner and i had a last minute decision for having a cake for our son's 1st birthday on the 03/12, We found this recipe and we we're so amazed how it turned out we didnt think we pulled it off but it made our son's birthday turn out great for a last minute cake... Thank you so much for letting everyone use your recipe....

Please can you tell me if the cooking chocolate which you use is sweetened? I'm from Sri Lanka and the cooking chocolate I use over here is sweet generally. If so, how do I adjust the sugar used in the recipe? The pics look great. I want to try this after I get the sugar problem sorted out. Thanks.

hi im making a wedding cake that is going to be three teirs the bottom being a choc mud cake the middle a white choc and the top being a fruit cake, it is to feed 100people and i was just wondering if the bottom layer will take the weight of the top two, and how much mix shoul i make up for the bottom layer

Your website has been a godsend!! I have volunteered to bake my brothers wedding cake...and only found out then that they are having 160 people! The whole cake will be chocolate mud, and I am going to use your receipe. Are you able to tell me though, for that many people, I'm thinking three layers but am unsure of sizes....can you help???

I forgot to ask also in my previous question about chocolate mud tin sizes for my brothers wedding of 160. For the appropriate sizes of tins you suggest - how many quantities of your recipe would I need for each. Thanks again. Cherie

I am making a 4 tiered wedding cake for my son using your mud cake recipe. The cake has a lovely taste and texture but the bottom tin is 28cm so I doubled the mix and baked it at 160 non fan forced and it sunk about 1cm in the middle. I did put a piece of baking paper on the top. The wedding is in 2 weeks, any suggestions? Also the other three tins are 23, 19, 13cm x 7 1/2cm depth any ideas of temps and times for these tins. Your help is much appreciated.

Hi....I'd like to make this for my daughter's birthday cake. It's for children so I was wondering if the coffee powder is necessary? I dont think the kids will like the flavour. Also would I put more of something else instead if I did not have it?Thankyou very much..I just LOVE your recipes!!

Will the cake be served as dessert (larger slices), or in addition to dessert (smaller slices)?

Hi Linda,

Did the cake seem a little undercooked in the centre? Cakes may sink if they are not fully cooked in the centre, so we would suggest increasing the baking time. If you are using round tins, then the 23cm diameter cake can be baked as instructed in the recipe above. We can't really advise as to the baking times/temperatures for other tin sizes because we haven’t tested them.

Hi,The cake is beautiful. Rich yet light. I normally do not go for mud cakes, but I did like this recipe. Just a note though on the description. You have castor sugar in the recipe, but you did not mention at what stage to put it in. I nearlly missed it :) and put into the melted ingredients when already took them off th estove. Guess, the structure was not exactly the one it meant to be at the end as sugar did not fully dissolve. Anyways, can you clarify this in the recipe? Thanks a lot! Yana

I am about do do a "test run" of your choc. mud cake for my daughter's wedding. The cake will be used for desert and will therefore need to be suitable for approx. 90 people.The cake will be cut into rectangular pieces to be served and will be iced with ganache.Do you have any suggestions to how I can decorate the top of the cake to make it look like a simple wedding cake?

Sorry we have taken so long to reply. The coffee flavour in this cake isn’t particularly strong, but you could just omit it from the recipe if you like (there's no need to replace it with another ingredient).

This cake is amazing! I made it for my friends B'day and i was suprised at how well the cake turned out. I used a 25cm square tin (1 and 1/2 batches) and baked for approx 2 hours at 150 degrees (fan forced) It sunk a little in the middle so my guess is it probablly needed another 10-15mins but otherwise it was perfect. I also wrapped the side of the tin with some folded newspaper (3 layers) and tied it with a piece of string. This stopped the cake burning and it was moist right from the very edge. I am very impressed with this recipe and can't wait to try all the different variations. Will definately be a regular visitor here.

i have been asked to make my brothers wedding cake, he wants a mud cake that is moist and rich, i have tried other recipes and i haven't been very successful. the cake si to be two tier and have either a dark chocolate ganahe or a white or chocolate icing. it is to about 120 people. can you recommand what sort of tins either square or round and how many times i should do the cake mix?

Hi, I'm thinking of making a mudcake for a wedding. It would be served as dessert (large slices) for 100-120 people. Could you please give me some advice on how many tins of what size I will need? Thanks, Margie

I am making the chocolate mud cake for my daughters wedding, she has requested a white chocolate ganache forthe icing. The cake has to travel two hours to the venue. Is it possible to freeze ganache and thaw? or is it best to make it just prior to use. This chocolate mud cake is definately my families favourite.

To the person making a three-tiered cake: We recommend that you use supports. This website has step-by-step instructions.

To make a 20cm diameter cake, we would multiply the ingredient quantities above by 0.75. Alternatively, you could make the recipe as above, and then use 3/4 of the batter to make the 20cm cake and the remaining batter to make some cupcakes.

First off i would like to say what a great website!!! I will be making this mud cake for my daughters first birthday and need to ask a few questions. I will be making a number one shape so i will be using two 30x11cm (7cm deep)tins. How much mixture should i use and approx how long should it cook for? Also i want to decorate the cake with a purple or pink icing i was thinking of using the white choc ganache and adding food colouring to the cream before adding to the melted chocolate, do you think this would work?any advice would be appreciated.Thanks Annie

I note this question has already been asked but I can't see an answer. I have made the cake 3 weeks before my son's Christening and intend to freeze it but was wondering if I could also freeze the ganache?

how tall does the pan have to be 10x 3?? I live in the us and this recipe looks DELICIOUS! do you have a chart that says how long to backe different size pans for? and would the cake turn out completely different if it is baked in a normal cake pan instead of a springfoam pan?thank you! :)

Regarding freezing ganache: You can freeze ganache for later use. When you are ready to use the ganache, bring it to room temperature, and then very gently warm it to obtain the desired consistency (spreadable or pourable).

You can ice a cake with ganache before freezing. However, when the cake is thawed, the ganache will probably not be as glossy as if it was freshly applied.

To the person who asked about chocolate panels: We will add your request to our to-do list.

We recommend that you multiply the recipe by 1.5 and then divide the batter between the two tins. Unfortunately, we can’t really help with the baking time, as we haven’t tested the recipe in the tin size you are using. We suggest that you keep an eye on the baking cakes, and when they look and feel cooked, test them with a knife/skewer as described in the recipe above. It should be fine to colour the ganache as you’ve described. If you would like to achieve a strong colour, you may need to use a colouring powder (see the above Dora the Explorer cake made by Sandy H).

I have been asked to make a round, three tier wedding cake plus a separate kitchen cake for 170 people.

The bride would like to keep the top for herself. She would like to serve the remaining wedding cake and kitchen cake to the guests as part of dessert (there will also be a separate dessert menu), so a small piece of cake for each guest will be sufficient.

Firstly, what size tins do you recommend for the three tier wedding cake and kitchen cake to serve 170 people and how many times do I need to make the recipe to fill each tin? I was thinking of making a 7 inch, 10 inch and two 13 inch cakes (one for the wedding cake and one for the kitchen cake)

Secondly, I would like to cover it in ganache and then in plastic icing - do you think this would be okay, especially around October?

Thirdly, I would like to layer the cake with ganache. Shall I cut it, once baked or is it better to bake layers which I can assemble later?

I'm making a 14 inch square mud cake. What quantity of cake mixture do I need and how long do I need to cook it for? I was planning on making two 14 inch square cakes (one choc mud and one white mud) for a wedding. Will there enough to serve 120 people for dessert? Thanks,Rebecca

What sort of chocolate did you use in this recipe? Is cooking or compound chocolate OK? I often buy el cheapo chocolate to use in cooking. Do the results differ with real "chocolate"? If so, how?Thanks,Becs

I'm looking at using your recipes for my wedding cake. I want to use the choc mud as the bottom layer in a 12 inch pan, and your white choc mud for the middle layer in a 10 inch pan.(Mum's making the top layer for me - fruit cake). How much will I have to increase the recipe by? and Will these cakes be about 10cm high?

We use a pan that is about 6.5cm (2.5 inches) tall. The baking paper that lines the pan is extended a few centimetres (about 1.5 inches) above the height of the pan to ensure that the cake doesn't overflow when it rises in the oven. The pan has a diameter of a little over 9 inches.

It would be fine to use a non-springform pan for this cake.

We don't have a chart that gives the baking times for different pan sizes (it's a great idea though).

We estimate that an 11 inch round cake would yield about 50 finger serves and a 13 inch round cake would yield about 90 finger serves. Therefore, you could reduce the size of the kitchen cake, and/or reduce your tier sizes, and still have enough cake to serve 170.

Underneath the above recipe, we have added a link to a table that lists the ingredient quantities required for various pan sizes.

Unfortunately, we don't have much experience with plastic icing. This discussion might be helpful.

If you have more than one of each cake pan size, and can bake a couple of cake layers at once, we would recommend dividing the batter and baking two layers for each tier.

When iced, the chocolate mud cake is about 5.5cm tall and the white chocolate mud cake is about 5cm tall. Please email and let us know whether you are using square or round pans, as this will affect the amount of batter you need.

For a 14 inch square pan, multiply the above recipe by three. Unfortunately, we can’t help with the baking time, as we haven’t tested the recipe in this pan size. Two 14 inch cakes should be enough for 120 dessert serves.

Thank you for the Mudcake recipe. I used it as a basis for a dairy free, gluten free birthday cake as 2 of my grandchildren have these allergies.

I used Orgran all-purpose flour, Coconut cream in place of the buttermilk in the cake and in place of the cream in the ganache, Nuttelex Original in place of the butter, and Sweet William original dairy and gluten free chocolate in both the cake and ganache.

Other than these changes I followed the recipe as written, same quantities, etc.

Everyone enjoyed the cake so much that I now have orders from all my grandchildren for the same birthday cake.

Tastes nice and sweet without being too rich. I used the recipe to make a 13x9x2 inch cake. Made more than I expected. When eaten a few hours after baking, tasted like a normal chocolate cake (falls apart). Much better when I put it in the fridge overnight. Turn out like the photo :). Thank you!

I used the original recipe with self-raising flour, and baked a large 14" diam cake (a practice for a wedding cake). After almost 2 hours in the oven, I tested the inside and it was all cooked. But after it cooled, I did notice that it sank in the middle. I was afraid that it was undercooked. I hope that the new improved recipe will solve this problem.

May I ask why reduce the SR flour? How should that prevent if from sinking in the middle?

We found that the original recipe cake rose and fell quite a bit during baking. We thought the cake would probably have a more even surface if the amount of raising agent was reduced so that the cake did not rise and fall as far. Our 23cm diameter test cake (new recipe) was almost flat across the top. However, we suspect that larger cakes will still need to be trimmed to achieve a level surface.

HiI would like to make this cake as two teired stacked cake. Can you tell me if I need to put dowels in and a plate or cardboard in the middle or do you think it will hold without? Also should I ice the two cakes seperately and the stack or stack before icing?thanks

This Cake was amazing... every one loved it... though i did eat about half myself... i saw a picture where someone had used chocolate panels along the side, i wanted to know can they be purchased or are they made... if they are made do you make a large peice and attempt at cutting it (sounds hard to avoid cracking) or make them in individual peices (are there moulds for this?)

Thanks you and once again great cake i will never need to go to the cheesecake shop again!

To the person who asked about the ingredient quantities for a 7 inch round pan: Please see the Mud Cake Ingredient Quantities for Various Pan Sizes table (the link is below the recipe). You could use the quantities specified for a 16cm round pan (to make a slightly shorter cake) or the quantities for a 20cm round pan (to make a slightly taller cake).

I tried your recipe using Orgran gluten free flours (plain and SRF). The first time I tried it I followed the recipe exactly and substituted normal flour with gluten free. Came out crumbly. I tried again and this time also substituted the water with milk. Worked really well.

The original recipe specifies a 23cm diameter round pan. Use the formula for the area of a circle or an online calculator to find the base area of the 23cm round pan (approximately 415 square centimetres).

I used the chocolate mud cake and the white chocolate mud cakes to make 3 layered cakes for my Wedding. Three chocolate cakes and three white chocolate cakes were made, each one was split in half and sandwiched chocolate - white - chocolate - white so that each slice of cake had a striped look. I joined them with some raspberry jam, heated slightly so it is easy to spread, and iced with loads of buttercream. It was devine, and the easiest wedding cake I have ever made!

The crusty top question: Dont use melted butter, use the beat butter and sugar till light and fuffy (but not too much or it goes dry), then add eggs beating well after each, then beat in cooled melted choc and oil. and add your flour and milf slowly, dont over mix, just mix to combine. Moist, soft cake results.

I have made this cake twice now in a 25cm square tin (6cm deep I think) and it took around 2 hours. I think 1hr 50-55 would be most accurate in a non fan forced but gas oven at my 160 (which is possibly a bit cooler than normal). Turns out great but a bit 'crispy' on top (I just cut that off). The top is still very edible, I just cut it off for presentation.

Anyway, I wanted to let you know that I have tried every chocolate mud cake recipe under the sun (I've baked about 10 different cakes...) and this one won as the best! I am making it for my wedding. So, thank you :)

Can I use baking chocolate instead for this cake? Also, i experienced the 'air bubble' in the middle, similar to one of the comments. and the middle part of the cake was fudgier than the rest of the cake. Can you tell me what possibly went wrong? Thanks =)

YUM! Flexible recipe, also. I was an impulse baker, used yoghurt instead of buttermilk, white sugar instead of caster. I didn't read carefully about the pan size before commencing, and had waaay too much batter for my 20cm springform. I made that cake(baked 1hr 30mins @ 160)and used the leftover batter for cupcakes. I made those in little silicone baking cups, they turned out perfect as well(25 minutes @ 160). I'm storing those in the freezer for sudden chocolate cravings. I also highly recommend the white choc mud cake recipe on this site, made that as my wedding cake. YUM again, thanks A&D! ^_^

This cake is fantastic. I have used this recipe untold times and my friends always ask me for the recipe. I have also made cupcakes with this recipe and my son absolutely loves them. One thing I tend to do is reduce the caster sugar to half the quantity, still turns out great.

I used these ingredients to make a Barbie cake for my 3yr old. It was the perfect quantity for a 19cup Large Dolly Varden tin and tasted really delicious!!! I also cut down on the caster sugar (2cups). Wil definately try the white choc one next.

I just tried this recipe today to surprise my boyfriend for his birthday (my very first attempt at baking a cake). I used a 20cm round pan, based on the ingredients listed in that pdf file and baked for 1 hour 30 minutes (non fan-forced). It was exquisite and DELICIOUS, my bf loved it! Two thumbs up! :D

I loved that this recipe is easy to follow for someone like me who hardly bake, and the ingredients portions are spot on. Thank you so much for this wonderful site.

P.S. Instead of using buttermilk, I substituted it with milk and 2 tsp of lemon juice. Thanks for the tip!

Hi Amanda and Debbie,I'm sure you get SO sick of answering quantity questions....BUTTTT...I have previously made this cake in a few different sizes, all of which are listed on your pdf document with the various sizes. However, this time I need a 13 x 11 inch cake (28cm x 33cm). My first question is do you think the recipe would be successful in such a large tin? I know that with some cakes you can get to a point where the recipe fails if it is too big.My second question is would you mind helping me out with the quantities? I'm HOPELESS at this sort of Maths!!! THANK YOU!!!

Me again!! So sorry, but decided to make it in a smaller tin - hopefully I haven't wasted your time! But I'd still be interested to know if you think it would be successful in a larger tin, as I'm sure I'll be doing it at some point seeing as cake decorating is my new hobby! Thanks girls! :-)

I made this beautiful mud cake over the weekend, complete with a minor stuff up (I accidentally added a whole cup of buttermilk alternative!) and it still worked out perfectly! As with all your recipes, this cake was a huge success at our house tonight!

Made this recipe as a trial for daughter's birthday, also made the white choc dream cake, both fantastic. I put the white cake on top. Also cut the tops of both cakes and turned them upside down to ice. Used the white ganache. When I make them next, I plan to use both ganache recipes (white and chocolate) to decorate. Thank you for the recipes which are really easy to make.

i tried this recipe and it was the most nicest dense mud cake i've ever tasted. i was wondering if you can make a white choc mud cake by replacing the milk/dark chocolate with white chocolate and ommiting cocoa and coffee. i have already tried the white choc mud cake on this site twice but i prefer the denser texture of this mud cake. thanks

This is the best mud cake recipe around. I made two cakes served at our wedding. But as I'm a perfectionist, I baked about ten trials of different recipes and this one was definitely the best! Don't bother looking at other mud cake recipes, I've tried them all, this one is a winner. :)

Hi, two days ago I made this cake i am trying different cakes (and learning to make them) for my daughter's 1st birthday, and in all honest truth The cake was delicious and the best thing was that I actually made it! Thank you for such an easy and wonderful cake recipe.by the way Jacqui, i used whipped cream because i did not have anyother, the ganache was delicious.

I made this cake for my brother's 19th birthday - it was delicious! Everyone loved it, thanks for such a wonderful recipe. For reference, I used a 22.5cm round springform tin, and I baked it at 160C for around 1 hr 25 minutes. I used your tip about trimming off the top and flipping the cake over - genius!

Hey Amanda and Debbie, I just wanted to say, thankyou so much for all your wonderful recipes. I have made this cake twice now for friends birthdays and will be making another for my friends 21st. I love it, it is the best mudcake recipe I have ever tasted, i did vary it a little with more milk chocolate then dark to make it more to my family's liking and it turned out beautifully. Thankyou again

I have made your recipe a few times and absolutely love it. I was planning to make it again this weekend for my brother-in-law's birthday and was considering trying it in a "Dolly Varden" tin. Just wondering if you have any idea about the quantity I would need for this tin and roughly how long it would take to cook.

Hey Tania, I made the above recipe in a "Dolly Varden" tin on Saturday and it was PERFECT!! The original measurement fit in the large DV tin perfectly - I cooked it in my fan-forced on 150 for approx 1.5 hours - i'm not sure of the exact time as it was the first time i'd made it and had to keep checking. Good luck!

I feel the same as everyone else, this cake is absolutely delicious! I made 3 batches spread over 2 large numeral tins for my brother's 30th and people were going back for their third slices! Now everyone thinks I can cook so the pressure's on! Takes a little bit of work but the end result is so worth it. Thanks so much girls, I have since used a few more recipes from your website and all have turned out great.

i love all of your recipes and this one too but the problem is its never flat.It rises soo high even though i didnt use selfraising flour.Can u tell me why is that!! B'coz i always have to trim the top off and it feels like a waste!

I made this absolutely amazing cake on Saturday there is simply no other word except DELICIOUS to describe it!!!!! Everybody loved it, nothing left!! My four year old brother enjoyed helping me make it!!!....Also I have noticed everybody talking about the crusty top of the cake, I turned it over so the Ganache ended up being on the flat side but I still left the crusty bit underneath I thought it gave it a really nice texture!!!!!!

Hi! This recipe is great! Thank you! My husband used it for the top layer of our 3-tier wedding cake in Fiji back in 2008. It was a hit with my family & friends. He substituted castor sugar for raw sugar which was good for the heavy fondant icing. I recently made a batch with castor sugar & made chocolate ganache for the first time & it tasted so delicious!

made this cake for a friends 40th.Was the hit of the desserts. I have tried a few recipes over time but this was the most delicious of all. I would highly recommend this to anyone trying to find that perfect mud cake receipe. THIS IS IT!Thanks ladies!

LOVEEE this receipe!! Made it a few times now and its come out perfect, even the time when I totally forgot to add sugar and it turned out slightly bland but still very very nice.

The only thing I changed was the sugar content - only used 1/2 cup of caster sugar. My cakes did have a slight rounded top which I just cut off and fought over with my lil daughter whilst I decorated the main cake.

This cake is soooo moist, its still soft and yummy, even after a week!!

This cake is awesome! I decided to try it after I discovered the conversion charts for different sized tins...I have to make a Mad Hatter cake for a wedding and decided it would be easier with the chart than doubling and tripling my old recipe (plus i'm lazy). I made it twice with a whole lot of trouble, i think due to my oven being fanforced. It sank and was crusty and by the time I cut it to get it flat it would have been lucky to be 5cm tall! I ended up putting the sugar in with the chocolate mix and dissolving it up, which solved the crusty top, and actually invested in Bake Even Strips...3rd time lucky, the cake was perfect! Perfectly flat, no sinking and no crusty top! Well worth the investment. Thanks for the recipe, it's absolutely beautiful, and definitely replacing my old recipe! Took a bit to crack it to get it perfect but well worth it once I did!

Just baked this cake as a trial for my son's 1st birthday on New yrs eve 2010. Must say it was pretty yum...8/10..but taking on your tips to use eating chocolate, as I used Plaistowe chocolate. I could taste the coffee so will omit that I think (especially being a kids cake), and maybe use a tiny bit more cocoa to substitute and I think it will be a 10/10 then! Thanks for the recipe. I've made 2 mud cakes once before and they tasted floury but this one rocks!

Made this cake for my son's 1st birthday for New Years eve 2010. I baked it in a 30.5cm pan (2 cakes then put on top of each other) but used the 29cm square cake pan method and it turned out brilliantly. Has people commenting all night on the taste and still am. They are saying it's yummy enough to sell! Best cake ever I have made, wasn't too hard and was easy to ice with buttercream then decroate with fondant and toy trucks for my son's cake. Highly Recommend!!!Not sure if my photo link worked below of the final result! http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=478369841783&set=a.478369786783.265027.532576783#!/photo.php?fbid=478369841783&set=a.478369786783.265027.532576783&pid=6517896&id=53257678

Made this cake recipe for the first time in 26cm round tin with quantities suggested for this size tin. Tasted great, beautiful texture. Took 1 hr 40 mins to cook in non fan forced oven. Slightly burnt on centre of top and cake cracked. I cut the burnt bit off, and cake was fantastic. Probably if covered with baking paper would avoid burning. Thanks for a great recipe.

I tried to make this recipe yesterday and it took me a total of 6 hours to prepare, bake, prepare again and decorate (: it's a lot, i know.a small piece of cake fell out when i cut the cake in half horizontally so i tried some. it was very dry but the moment came and the cake was cut, it tasted very rich and very moist inside.

i topped my cake with ganache and sprinkles chocolate shavings and chopped chocolate on it. when it hardened, the chopped chocolate turned shiny and there was an effect which made the top look like a tiled floor. it looked amazing! i also covered the top with truffles and covered the sides in chocolate cigarillos.

this is really good recipe and i recommend everyone to use it, it tasted like it was bought from a shop but a small piece of it made me quite sick. thanks for sharing this recipe (: i really appreciated it.

Hi there, to avoid the crust on top simply bake for an hour then cover with foil then bake for another 45 minutes.. This is for a 22 or 23 cm round tin. When baked the cake is so unbelievably moist ;) thanks again for the recipe ;)

I LOVE this recipe. I make is several times a year, for each birthday cake I make. I usually make it and freeze it, then work ont he decorations. The cake freezes and defrosts really well and is perfect for holding heaving decorations. Thank you for making this recipe available.

Has anyone tried using this recipe in a nut loaf tin? I'm making a train for my son's birthday and need a cylinder shape for the "engine". Also, does anyone have any hints on cooking with nut loaf tins, ie. cooking times etc??? I've never used one before, any tips would be appreciated. Thanks Debbie & Amanda for all the fabulous recipes :)

This cake tastes awesome and is so moist and lush. Just pulled it out of the oven, from a dolly vardin tin and its held together well. Cooked for 2.5 hours, but for anyone else doing the same it probably needed a bit more. The mix filled the tin perfectly.

I want to put a light coloured royal icing on the outside, but wondered if I should be putting another layer of different icing underneath or just put the royal straight on? Any advice would be great!

Thanks for the recipe : ) I did it gluten free with orgran flour and its yummo. Hard to do gluten free cakes nicely, so thanks!!

Baked this to use for a christening cake & just wanted to say THANKS SO MUCH FOR SHARING!!!! It's an awesome recipe! It is super tasty and moist all the way up to the edges. The trimmings were still perfect a week after I baked it (It took a lot of willpower to get them to last that long!). I used 29cm square tin & the ingredients given for that particular size. I baked it for about 1 hour & 45 minutes at 160 degrees C with the fan on. It did sink in the middle (but I am guilty of giving the pan a shake to see if it was wobbly!)and it did get a slight crust on the top surface. After it was levelled the cake measured about 4.5cm high. This has become my new favourite go-to chocolate mud cake recipe!!

Hi, I made this mud cake today! Was beautiful! I'd never made a mud cake before today, and was just wondering how to make it more rich, a really rich darkMud cake. Would I just only have dark chocolate and not milk chocolate?

i have made this cake numerous time now over the last year, it is the only recipe i use now because its just that good, i use half dark and half normal chocolate when making it and it is just amazing. Just discovered the white choc recipe and its next to give a go...just one question...is there a caramel mud cake recipe or is there anything i can substitue for to make a caramel mud?

I want to thank you for this recipe from the bottom of my heart. I was searching the net desperate for a good mud cake recipe to bake for two upcoming weddings. I have now made several sizes of this cake for those weddings using your recipe based on tin sizes. Every cake was perfect- in fact it looks much more mudcake like than your picture would suggest. I totally recommend people try this recipe before any other mudcake recipe.

ok I am not a baker, but just thought i would add my experience....it looks tasty but its like it formed a crust on the top outter layer (2cm) then cracked and the middle part exploded and is nearly an inch higher then the 2cm edge of the cake. I can easily just cut the top off....but just wondering if its my oven, i have made the white chocolate mudcake before and that turned out perfect think I will stick to that one.

I've made this mud cake every year for my daughter's birthday and its been amazing everytime! Seeing as its her 5th birthday and my guests will laugh if I do yet another mud cake Ive decided to mix it up and do a white chocolate and strawberry mud cake- will let you know how I go!

I had a wonderful chocolate cake at a friend's and being an avid baker immediately asked for the recipe!! It was your mud cake. Since then, I have tried it, and the children absolutely loved it. My only worry was that it was a little too sweet, and that too without the ganache. Would it work if I decreased the sugar or switched to all dark chocolate ? I noticed that all your pan conversions are for round and square pans. Would the quantity for your recipe work for a 9x13 rectangular pan?I should also add that all other recipes I have tried from your site have been wonderful too esp the Roast pumpkin soup and the chewy Anzac biscuits ..thanks a lot :)

Made this recipe last weekend as a trial run for my daughter's birthday ... was easy to make and tasted wonderful. Am making it again this weekend for her party but am going to try it with Lindt's strawberry intense dark chocolate in the cake mix and also what is left in the ganache and omitting the coffee .. hopefully taste wise it will be wonderful, will let you know how it goes .. Jane

Hi ..I made this cake the other day, and it turned out lovely. However, the family did feel it was a little too sweet, and that too without the ganache. I was wondering if reducing the amount of sugar in the recipe will make a difference to the overall texture of the cake? Or should I bake with just dark chocolate? Thanks..not just for this, but also the many other wonderful recipes from your site.

I made this recipe for my hushand's 40th in an 11" square tin and it was excellent. I wrapped a couple of layers of newspaper with string around the oustide to ensure an even bake and cooked for just under 2 hours at 160 without fan forced.. This cake was perfect even to the edge. I also used port rather than water and it just added to the richness and moisture of the cake which I baked on a Wednesday for the Saturday. I ganached this cake twice to achieve desired surface with equal parts milk and dark chocolate with a ratio of 1:2 cream to chocolate which set perfectly and followed with fondant decoration. I froze leftovers in glad wrap, alfoil and then a ziplock bag and it was been great defrosted or in the microwave for 30 - 60 seconds (with fondant removed) served with vanilla ice cream and strawberries. I highly recommend this recipe.

To Jessica - RE the cracked top of the cake, simply easy way to fix this problem is to wet a clean tea towel, ring out and place on top of the cake where it is cracked, My Grandmother taught me this trick many years ago and have done it many times in the past.Great recipe by the way, love this website and refer all my friends and family to it, have not found a thing on here that hasn't been good.Keep up the great work!

I just made a gluten free version of this cake and it turned out brilliantly. I made it for a 27cm pan. I used gluten free plain flour instead of plain flour, but I used 60grams less of it than the recipe advised. I added 100grams of ground almonds.Thanks so much for sharing your wonderful recipes.

I've made this cake many many times for birthdays for friends and family. It's my tried and true recipe and never fails me. Every time I make it I am always asked for the recipe. I like to cut the cake into layers and layer it with a thick ganache and will usually cover it in ganache then fondant or just ganache and the pipe ganache on top with a mountain of chocolate both milk and white twirls on top. Thanks for the best mud cake recipe.

Has anyone tried to turn this into a red velvet type cake? We purchased a cake interstate that was a red velvet but had this mud cake composition. If anyone has any ideas as to what I could add/replace to give it a red velvet taste (other than food colouring) that would be much appreciated.

I am making this cake for a 90th birthday, with two square tiers, held in late summer at a beach party. I intend to freeze the cake,then defrost, then ice on the day. How long before the party should it be iced? Once iced, should it then be stored in the fridge? Thanks.

What a fantastic success!!! Made a 23cm round choc mud cake and iced with ganache, then drizzled with melted white choc streaks across cake - was perfect! Thank you for a fabulous and detailed recipe :)

Hi! Would really like to bake this but want to clarify the amount of flour needed in this recipe. 325g or 2 cups plus 2tbsp do i follow? A cup's measurement is 250g so two of that & 2tbsp more is over 500g already or are my measurements not accurate? Please hope to hear from you as I am really hoping to make a mudcake my mom's requested & your recipe have great reviews so im thrilled to have found this.Thank you.

It's probably too late but to the above poster, a cup is 250ml not grams, so a cup of flour won't weigh the same as a cup of milk depending on its density, hope that makes sense, I just used the scales myself anyway as I've always noticed their measurements to be very precise and for me that seems more accurate

I make this cake gluten free all the time. I just swap out the flour for Organ GF plain flour and swap out the water for milk. I use the same quantities as the recipe. Everyone loves it and aren't aware that its gluten free. Just try not to over cook as it can dry out edges.

Thanks for the recipe. I made the quantity in the method, split it in half and cooked two cakes in loaf pans. It took 1hr to cook (I cooked one at a time in gas oven at 320F). Thought I'd share incase anyone else is looking to make this cake in a loaf! I needed the loaf shape to make a school bus cake. Will post pics once I'm done decorating (if it turns out ok!).

This is a great and reliable recipe. I recently made two sizes of this cake for an 18th birthday. I made the 5 egg recipe for a 23 cm square tin and I cooked it for 1 1/2 hours at 155℃ fan-forced. I also made the 2 egg recipe for a 16 cm low sided pan (in the pdf -recipe for a 14 cm square pan) and cooked it for 155℃ fan-forced for 1 hour. Both cakes were perfect and beautifully moist. Thankyou for the recipe. I will definitely use it again.

Made this recipe as a trial for my son's wedding in Àpril. Absolutely delicious!! I made the 26cm round recipe in a 23cm round pan. Baked at 160 deg in a fan forced oven for 1 hr 55 mins. Lined the pan with brown paper and baking paper to prevent drying out. Made a nice high cake for icing with fondant....and the bride and groom-to-be loved it when we taste tested it last night!!

I have now used this recipe several times, including two wedding cakes, an engagement cake, and a variety of birthday cakes. Thankyou so much for this recipe, the instructions and in particular the pdf for sizes and quantities. It has taken a lot of trauma out of big jobs for a novice.

Love this recipe! So easy and delicious, thank you so much!! I'm would love to make a rich milk chocolate cake, equivalent of this mud cake but with the rich milk chocolate flavour. Would it work if I just take milk chocolate, leave out cacao and coffee? Or maybe somebody knows a good recipe? I'm baking a lot of celebration cakes for kids parties and I noticed not everybody likes dark chocolate flavour. Many thanks in advance, Lena

For all those looking for whether this recipe works or not... It is the GREATEST cake you'll ever make! JUST 100x more Perfect than the perfect mud cake!

I used 2 cups caster sugar (instead of 2 1/2) for the cake as I had Swiss meringue butter cream as icing & didn't want it to be too sweet.I also used 150g butter and 100g vegetable oil for the cake (instead of 250g of butter) as I read in one of the comments here that they thought it was too buttery. So I substituted oil a little for just in case.

My cake did crack and was crusty on the top too, but I would have had to cut it anyways from the middle to get 2 layers and an even surface to work with for decorating.

I made this for my first cake order for a pre-wedding party (which was risky because I've never made a mud cake before but hey! It has to be a first time one day!) and they've already given me a second order for the wedding! So thank you for this awesome recipe!! Its just Divine!